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Scientists find way to reverse malfunctioning protein clumps involved in ALS

In the quest to understand the driving forces behind neurodegenerative diseases, researchers in recent years have zeroed in on clumps of malfunctioning proteins thought to kill neurons in the brain and spinal cord by jamming their cellular machinery.

22 Sep 2016

AACN Practice Alert offers detailed checklist for aspiration prevention in tube-fed patients

Aspiration among critically ill patients may often be subtle or even silent, but that doesn't mean it's insignificant.

16 Sep 2016

NIPS researchers reveal new mechanisms by which microglia sculpt neural circuits

Microglia are cells that combat various brain diseases and injuries by swallowing foreign or disruptive objects and releasing molecules that activate repair mechanisms.

26 Aug 2016

Thymectomy confers benefit to MG patients who do not have chest tumor, study shows

A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine addresses a question doctors have sought to clarify for decades: whether a surgery conducted since the 1940s benefits the patients it targets.

11 Aug 2016

Botulinum toxins may cause remote effects by moving between neurons

The botulinum toxins are among the deadliest substances on Earth, and two specific toxins — including the popular drug Botox — have multiple uses for treating many neuromuscular conditions, including frown lines, disabling muscle spasms and migraine headaches.

5 Aug 2016

ATS releases guidelines to help pediatricians evaluate infants with recurrent, persistent wheezing

The American Thoracic Society has issued clinical practice guidelines to help pediatricians and pediatric pulmonologists evaluate infants with recurrent or persistent wheezing.

2 Aug 2016

Researchers identify how precise control of inflammation could lead to bone repair

In their mission to design new biomaterials that promote tissue regeneration, Drexel University researchers have identified how inflammation, when precisely controlled, is crucial to bone repair.

30 Jul 2016

Revolutionary surgery improves airway and jaw position in children with Treacher Collins syndrome

A revolutionary surgery developed by Dr. Richard Hopper, surgical director of Seattle Children's Craniofacial Center, called subcranial rotation distraction, is changing the lives of children who are tracheostomy dependent.

27 Jul 2016

Researchers discover three new risk genes for ALS

Published today in Nature Genetics, the study reveals three new risk genes for ALS and one of these - C21orf2 - increases an individual's risk of developing the dis-ease by 65 per cent.

26 Jul 2016

Cryopreserved human umbilical cord patch shows promise in treating fetal spina bifida

A patch made from cryopreserved human umbilical cord may be a novel method for treating spina bifida in utero, according to researchers at McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

12 Jul 2016

Surgeons outline complete face transplant procedure in facial burn patients

Last year, the most extensive clinical face transplant to date was successfully carried out at NYU Langone Medical Center.

30 Jun 2016

Stem cell procedure may be safe for ALS patients

A phase II clinical trial in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, suggests that transplanting human stem cells into the spinal cord may be done safely.

30 Jun 2016

Treatment for IBS proves difficult, survey reveals

A new national survey by Health Union of more than 1,000 individuals with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) reveals that the condition is difficult to diagnose and often even more difficult to treat.

29 Jun 2016

Dishwasher and laundry capsules pose threat to children

Parents are being warned of the major health risks of children mistaking potentially harmful dishwasher and laundry capsules for sweets, after figures showed at least one case is happening every day.

7 Jun 2016

Metformin along with chemotherapy/radiation improves outcomes in head and neck cancer patients

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine have found that adding increasing doses of an approved Type 2 diabetes drug, metformin, to a chemotherapy and radiation treatment regimen in head and neck cancer patients is not well tolerated if escalated too quickly, but allowing slower escalation could be beneficial.

6 Jun 2016

Researchers explore how ALS develops from muscle perspective

In an effort to better understand what happens during Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), researchers at Umea University in Sweden have compared the impact of ALS on the eye and limb muscles.

3 Jun 2016

MIT researchers test tiny origami robot that unfolds from swallowed capsule in simulated stomach

In experiments involving a simulation of the human esophagus and stomach, researchers at MIT, the University of Sheffield, and the Tokyo Institute of Technology have demonstrated a tiny origami robot that can unfold itself from a swallowed capsule and, steered by external magnetic fields, crawl across the stomach wall to remove a swallowed button battery or patch a wound.

13 May 2016

Researchers agree to test new stem cell gene therapy for Sanfilippo disease in human trial

Scientists in Manchester, who have developed a stem cell gene therapy to reverse a fatal childhood illness, have agreed to work with a new therapeutics company to test it in a human trial.

11 May 2016

Researchers examine critical role of hypoxia in induction, amplification of FOP lesions

The cellular response to the lack of oxygen fans the flames of flare-ups in a rare bone disorder. In fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), a mutation triggers bone growth in muscles, which limits motion, breathing, and swallowing, among a host of progressive symptoms.

3 May 2016

Nuplazid (pimavanserin) tablets approved to treat hallucinations and delusions

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Nuplazid (pimavanserin) tablets, the first drug approved to treat hallucinations and delusions associated with psychosis experienced by some people with Parkinson's disease.

30 Apr 2016